Surgical forceps



Aug. 9, 1949. y B. RICHTER 2,478,595

' SURGICAL FORCEPS Filed Aug. 24, 1948 INVENTOR. 3714770 Fz'cifer BY Patented Aug. 9, 1949 V UNITED. STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,478,595 sUaGicAL FORCEPS 7 Bruno Richter, Glen .EllynJll.

Application August 24, 1948, Serial No. 45,871

provide improved surgical forceps which will firmly hold a tubular bod vessel, such as a blood vessel, against pressure without penetrating or injuring the inner wall of the vessel, and which, pursuant to this object, is provided with closelyspaced, specially-shaped clamping teeth, the points of which are sufiiciently close together to preclude penetration of a tubular body vessel to which the forceps are applied, but are sumciently sharp and separated to obtain a: fir grip on the outer wall of such a vessel.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the following description and the appended claims in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a pair "of surgical forceps illustrative of the invention; a Figure 2 is a side elevation of the forceps illustrated in Figure 1; I 1 I i Figure 3 is a plan view on a greatly enlarged scale of a fragmentary end portion of the forcepts illustrated in Figure 1, showing in detail th shape and arrangement of'the clamping teeth of the forceps; 1

Figure 4 is a transverse cross-section of one of the jaw fragments illustrated in Figure 3, taken substantially on the line 44' of Figure 3; v and Figure 5 is a side elevation of a somewhat modified form of forcep or clip having the same type of teeth as particularly shown in Figures lClaims'. (Cl. 128-321) stitute jaw portions [4 of a reduced cross-sectional area, and a series of clamping te'ethpas generally indicated at i5, is provided along the edge of each jaw member opposed to the opposite jaw member, and each series of teeth extends from the outer end of the correspondingjaw member longitudinally of the jaw member toward the pivotal connection ll.v The construction is preferably such that the teeth near the outer ends of the jaw members overlap or interengage when the forceps are tightly closed without any tissue or other material included between the opposed series of teeth.

The above-described construction of surgical forceps is conventional, and the present invention resides primarily in so shaping and spacing the clamping teeth that the teeth will firmly grip the'outer wall of a tubular body vessel, such as a blood vessel, so that the'iorceps will hold the vessel closed against blood pressure, even if the vessel be severed near the "forceps, but the teeth will not penetrate or injure the inner wall portion of the vessel to thus delay healing of the nection including a pivot pin or screw H ex- 'tive lug or extension projecting outwardly from each side .member and provided on its face'op- 1 posed to the face of the opposite lug with notches so that the two lugs are releasably engageable together to hold the forceps in closed condition. At the opposite side of the pivotal connection II from the handle rings l2 the side members convessel or cause other undesirable effects.

The individual teeth of the series are particularly illustrated in Figures 3 and 4, and indicated at I6. While the size and shape of the teeth the range between 10 and 15, and the opposite sides of each tooth extending longitudinally of the corresponding jaw converge from the base {of th'to'o'th to 'a point at the outer end of the tooth at a total included angle of approximately 35. Thisfpr'ovides an arrangement in'which the teeth are approximately 0.045 of an inch high and approximately lll'teeth are disposed in an inch of jaw length. The sides of the jaws are dressed or finished to a smooth, rounded shape, resembling in cross-section a streamlined body, and the opposite sides of each tooth extending longitudinally of the corresponding jaw are somewhat convexly curved; as is clearly illustrated in Figure 4. V

The jaws are arranged so that the pointed outer ends of the teeth projecting from one jaw are disposed substantially midway between the pointed outer ends of corresponding teeth projecting from the other jaw when the jaws are closed together, as illustrated in Figure 3, with the teeth near the outer ends of the jaws intermeshing and the teeth at the inner ends of the series of teeth being somewhat spaced apart at their outer ends, the angle between two lines one of which contacts the outer ends of the teeth of one series and the other of which contacts the outer ends of the teeth of the other series when the jaws are closed together including between them a total angle of approximately 10. In the. somewhat modified device shown in Figure 5, the handle rings I2 and lockin tongues 13 are not used and the side members I5 are not crossed over, but are pivotally connected together in side-by-side relationship b a pivot pin l'l extending through overlapping apertured lugs I8 extending laterally from the two side members. At the side of the pivot pin ll opposite the teeth [5, the two side members are shaped to provide angularly-disposed levers it relatively diverging in a direction away from the pivot pin to separate the teeth-carrying jaws 28 when the levers are compressed, and a coiled compression spring 2| is'disposed between the levers to resiliently urge the levers apart and the jaws together. Thi spring is held in position by spring seats 22 secured one to the inner side of each lever I9 and operatively engaging the corresponding end of the spring 2|.

The invention may be embodied in other spe cific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the cforegoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are, therefore, intended to be embraced therein.

I claim:

1. In a pair of surgical forceps comprising a pair of side members, a pivotal connection interconnecting said side members intermediate their length in crossed-over relationship, respective handle ring on said side members at one side of .said pivotal connection, respective jaw portions on said side members at the opposite side of said pivotal connection, and a series of teeth on the inner side of each jaw member extending longitudinally and transversely of each jaw member from the outer end of the latter toward said pivotal connection and so arranged that the teeth of one series are received between the teeth of the opposite series when the jaw are closed, the improvement wherein the sides of each tooth extending transversely of the corresponding jaw member converge relative to each other from the jaw to a point at the outer end of the tooth at a total included angle in the range between 10 and and the side walls of each tooth disposed longitudinally of the corresponding jaw member converge from the jaw member to the pointed outer end of the tooth at an angle of approximately 35, and adjacent transverse side wall converge at the bases of said teeth.

2. In a pair of surgical forceps comprising a pair of side members, a pivotal connection interconnecting said side members intermediate their length in crossed-over relationship, respective handle rings on said side members at one side of said pivotal connection, respective jaws on said side members at the opposite side of said pivotal connection, and a series of teeth on the inner side of each jaw extending longitudinally and transversely of each jaw cfrom the outer end of the latter toward said pivotal connection and so arranged that the teeth of one series are received between the teeth of the opposite series when said jaws are closed, the improvement wherein said teeth are approximately 0.045 of an inch in height and pointed at their outer ends with the pointed outer ends of adjacent teeth in a series spaced apart approximately 0.025 of an inch.

3. In a pair of surgical uforceps comprising a pair of side members, a pivotal connection interconnecting said side members intermediate their length in crossed-over relationship, respective handle rings on said side members at one side of said pivotal connection, respective jaws on said side members at the opposite side of said pivotal connection, and a series of teeth on the inner side of each jaw extending longitudinallyand transversely of such jaw from the outer end of the latter toward said pivotal connection and so arranged that the teeth of one series are received between the teeth of the opposite series when said jaws are closed, the improvement wherein said teeth are approximately 0.045 of an inch in height and are disposed in said series at approximately 40 teeth to an inch of jaw length.

4. In a pair of surgical forceps comprising a pair of side members, a pivotal connection interconnecting said side members intermediate their length in crossed-over relationship, respective handle rings on said side members at one side of said pivotal connection, respective jaw portions on said side members at the opposite side of said pivotal connection, and a series of teeth on the inner side of each jaw member extending longitudinally and transversely of each jaw member from the outer end of the latter toward said pivotal connection and so arranged that the teeth of one series are received between the teeth of the opposite series when said jaws are closed, the improvement wherein the sides of each tooth extending transversely of the corresponding jaw member converge relative to each other from the jaw to a point at the outer end of the tooth at a total included angle in the range between 10 and 15, and the side walls of each tooth disposed longitudinally of the corresponding jaw member converge from the jaw member to the pointed out end of the tooth at an angle of approximately 35, and adjacent transverse side walls converge at the bases of said teeth, said tooth walls extending longitudinally of the corresponding jaw being convexly curved.

) BRUNO RICHTER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,488,351 Kilian Mar. 25, 1924 1,903,257 Dahl Mar. 28, 1933 2,108,325 Ziegler Feb. 15, 1938 

